Archive for the ‘Forgiveness’ Category

I looked up the word resilience a few weeks ago. I was preparing for a speaking engagement I had coming up on the topic, and this is what I found: resilience noun | re·sil·ience | \ri-ˈzil-yən(t)s\ : the ability to become strong, healthy, or successful again after something bad happens : the ability of something to return to its original shape after it has been pulled, stretched, pressed, bent, etc. Resilience is often prized. I’d venture to say that every one of us would like to be resilient. But what if we could be more than resilient? I must admit I was a bit disappointed with this definition. I had honestly thought resilience was something greater than this. The moment I read this definition, I found myself challenging the notion that we’re to become strong again or healthy again or successful again when something bad happens. I began challenging the…

Hello friends! I’d like to invite you to join me on Joni Table Talk today at 2am, 7am, and 8:30pm EST on Daystar! If you aren’t able to make any of those times, be sure to catch it On Demand by clicking here. And, if you’re open to helping me spread the word about the message I’ve been given, I’d be forever grateful if you’d consider sharing this episode on your social media channels or by word of mouth! Thank you! Have a fabulously wonderful day! Blessings, Laurie P.S. If you have any thoughts, I’d love for you to join the conversation on Facebook or Twitter!

I received an email several months back from an editor asking if I’d consider contributing to the new devotional Bible by Zondervan called NIV Bible for Women: Fresh Insights for Thriving in Today’s World. There were apparently a few contributors who dropped out at the last minute, and this poor editor had only a few days to pull the whole thing together. It was Saturday. The project was going to print on Monday. And God had brought her to me (and I’m sure a few others). “I can do it!” I told her with excitement, as I thought about how God had done it again. He’d provided yet another opportunity to get my message out there, and I was thankful––even though this project had effectively hijacked my weekend. I was asked to write a devotion on Revelation 4:8, focusing on the fact that God is still on His throne despite all the pain we see…

The following is an excerpt of my new book, Letters from My Father’s Murderer. I spent most of the night in prayer, asking Jesus for grace. I desperately needed His grace to trust and follow Him where He was leading. I prayed for Him to grow my faith. To allow me to see as I ought. And as Dr. Graham’s words came to mind once again—about how Jesus loved and prayed for His enemies, even as He hung on that cross—I thought, what is Jesus really asking me to do, anyway? Then it hit me. He was simply asking me to give that which I had already received. That night, I began to see and understand the gospel more fully. I began to see that, prior to coming to faith in Jesus, I was in fact an enemy of God. Yet while I was still far from God, He loved…

I didn’t want to revisit my past, but I knew I needed to. I had already seen God move mightily on my behalf in the short time since giving my life to Christ, but I knew He wasn’t finished yet. Healing begins the moment we allow Jesus complete access to the darkness contained within our souls. Darkness must flee in the presence of light, in the presence of Jesus, but light cannot go where it is not permitted. Doors must be opened for light’s rays to touch our darkest dark. And at this point, I was flinging doors open left and right, begging, Come, Lord Jesus, come. Soon, I heard God’s gentle whisper––“It’s time to forgive.” I knew what God was calling me to. I knew I was being called to forgive Anthony, the man who murdered my dad. But quite honestly, I thought I had already done that. Yet…

I know some of you are familiar with my story, but some of you newer readers aren’t. And so with the release of my new book, Letters from My Father’s Murderer: A Journey of Forgiveness, I thought it would be a good idea to write a few articles to fill you in. I pray you are blessed. I had always thought the world was a wonderful place, full of beauty and love and light. Growing up, the life I imagined for myself looked more like a fairytale than I care to admit. I had plans for my life, big plans. But just as I was coming into my own, just as I was about to seize all life has to offer, my world unraveled when confronted by an evil I never imagined possible. My dad, who I love more than I can ever say, was murdered, and with that loss, all…

Hi friends! Today’s the day Letters from My Father’s Murderer is released! I must say, it’s a bit surreal. This project has been in the works for three and a half years, and it’s finally out for the world to see! If you haven’t ordered a copy yet, you can grab it from Amazon or Barnes & Noble or wherever else you like to buy books. It’s available on Kindle and Nook as well, by the way (but not iBooks––whah, whah). If you’re still not convinced enough to pick up a copy, perhaps hearing what others are saying (outside of my friends and family) will give you the nudge you need: “Truthfully, I could not put the book down.” – Dan “Powerful! …This is a must read.” – Page “Been reading every spare minute…. I honestly had a hard time putting it down.” – Patty “Cannot put the book down! I started it last…

My dad was murdered when I was twenty years old. It was a deliberate senseless act committed by a man whose selfish desires had left him blind. This man had taken my dad from me––stolen what was rightfully mine––and quite honestly, I hated him for that. Forgiveness was one of the first things God spoke over my life when I came to Christ nine years later, and though I was receptive to His leading, I was a bit confused. You see, I thought I had already forgiven that man. I honestly didn’t think about him very much at that point, and when I did think about him, I didn’t feel the hatred I had felt before. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I didn’t like him one bit, but if he came to mind, I was able to keep my feelings in check. Still, I figured if God was calling…

I knew I needed to forgive. Even as a non-Christian, I knew it would not be healthy to hold onto all the anger I felt after my dad’s murder. For many years, I tried to forgive. I tried to move on, but without God in my life, I ended up burying my anger instead. Like a seed in fertile ground, my anger was effectively planted, yielding the corrosive fruit of bitterness that resided deep within my heart. You see, I had mistakenly subscribed to the “forgive and forget” mentality this world puts forth, but this way of thinking does not lead us toward true forgiveness or healing. Following the “forgive and forget” model only represses emotions––it does not heal them. I did not know real forgiveness––what it looked like, what it was, or how to do it––until Jesus showed me nine years after the murder, as He led me on…

One of the most frequent questions I have been asked over the last couple years is, “When does your book come out?” Over and over, I have given the same answer: “June 2015.” Quite honestly, June 2015 seemed like it might never get here, but with time flying by as it has a habit of doing, June 2015 has most certainly arrived. Can you believe it? You probably can, but I can’t! It’s hard to believe I’m nearing the end of this three-plus-year writing journey. Letters from My Father’s Murderer: A Journey of Forgiveness will officially be released on June 27th!!! (Though if you pre-ordered the book on Amazon, you may get it earlier, but you didn’t hear that from me!) To celebrate the month of my book’s release, I’m giving you (my readers) a sneak peak of the book today, one that’s not included in the official excerpt provided by my publisher, found here. I do…